Former members of a security group known as the Sentinels have provided new accounts regarding the 2020 shooting death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. inside Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone. In interviews reported by NPR, the former security personnel described their operations within the protest area and identified a specific individual they believe shot Mays at close range.
Antonio Mays Jr. was killed in June 2020 after the white Jeep he was driving crashed and was subsequently fired upon by individuals within the CHOP zone. At the time, participants in the protest area claimed the shooting was an act of self-defense against a perceived threat. These claims had largely remained the primary public narrative regarding the incident until recent investigations conducted by reporters Sydney Brownstone, Will James, and David Gutman.
The Sentinels operated as an informal security force within the police-free zone established during the George Floyd protests. The new testimony from former members offers details on the group's internal structure and identifies a suspect in the shooting. The reports aim to clarify the sequence of events that led to the death of the teenager, which occurred during the final days of the CHOP occupation.